by Cynthia Eden
Sawyer slipped from the bed. He dressed quickly. Silent, he stalked across the room and he yanked the door open just as Jay was lifting his hand to knock.
Jay’s eyes widened. “How did you—”
Sawyer pushed the guy back into the hallway. When they were both clear of the doorway, Sawyer pulled the door shut behind him.
“Right. Enhanced senses.” Jay nodded. “Just takes a little getting used to, you know?”
“Elizabeth is sleeping. She had a bad dream, and I don’t want—”
“Still has them, huh?” Sadness flashed on Jay’s face.
The bastard has been with Elizabeth at night. In her bed. He’s held her when she cries out.
“Guess she’ll never get over the death of her parents.”
Elizabeth hadn’t been dreaming about her parents this time. She was dreaming about me.
“She was trapped with them, you know.” Jay rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Not that Elizabeth ever told me that part. Don’t think I got past her wall far enough for her to reveal that bit about herself.” He flashed a quick smile. “But I have this terrible habit. I always have to know everything I can about the people in my life. And with a computer, I can find anything. Anything.”
Sonofabitch. “You dug into her past.”
“I wanted to know what demons drove her.” Jay turned away and headed down the hallway. He kept his voice low as he said, “She was like a woman possessed. She never told me specifics about Lazarus, not while we were together, but I figured it all out. She wanted to stop death. She never wanted to lose anyone close to her again.”
Slowly, Sawyer followed the other man down the stairs. He didn’t want to leave Elizabeth. What if she had another bad dream? But he needed to clear the damn air with Jay.
When they reached the landing, Jay sighed. His gaze raked over Sawyer. “She didn’t want to lose someone she loved, and that’s why it must have hurt her so much when she found out that Landon and Wright planned for you to be the first test subject.”
You weren’t supposed to die. You were supposed to stay with me.
“Do you remember her at all?” Jay asked, pushing.
“Yes.” And what he didn’t remember…I think I’m falling for her again.
“There are some videos you need to see.” He looked back up the staircase. “Some that she needs to see, too, but maybe it will be better for you to see them first.”
“I don’t have secrets from Elizabeth.”
“You sure about that?”
No, actually, he wasn’t.
“Come on.” Jay waved to the left. “My office is this way.”
Eyes narrowing, Sawyer followed. When he entered the office, he wasn’t particularly surprised to find West standing near the window. West had his arms crossed over his chest, and his back was against the wall that bordered the window. When his gaze fell on Sawyer, West lifted a brow. “We gonna have a problem?”
“Not if you keep your hands off Elizabeth.”
West’s lips twisted. “Known her for years. If we were interested in fucking each other, it would have happened by now.” He pointed at Jay. “I would have stolen her away from this asshole.”
Jay frowned at him. “If you weren’t family, that line would piss me off.”
“I am family, and it still pisses you off.”
Sawyer shook his head. He didn’t understand these two men. “I’m living in a damn nightmare right now, so can you both save your shit for someone else?”
Jay gave a brisk nod and headed for his desk. The laptop was there, but it was still closed. Wires ran from it, though, wires that connected to the two giant screens set up behind Jay’s desk. “Took me all of five minutes. Hardly a challenge.” Jay tapped on a wireless, black keyboard and a video appeared, stretching to cover both of the two screens. “This is the first one we need to talk about.”
Sawyer saw his own face staring back at him from those screens. The image was frozen. “Play it,” he bit off.
“Here we go.” Jay tapped a key, and the video played.
On the screen, Sawyer’s face tightened. “Why the hell do you need to record this?”
“For the record.” That was Landon’s voice. No mistaking that smug asshole’s identity.
In that video, Sawyer rolled his eyes. “This is such bullshit. Fine. Okay. I, Sawyer Cage, volunteer to be part of Project Lazarus.”
The video stopped. Thirteen seconds.
“I’ve seen this shit before.” Sawyer knew an edge had entered his voice. “When I woke up in my cell at Lazarus, it was the first thing that Landon showed me. He wanted to prove that I’d agreed to be in the program, that I’d volunteered—”
“Did he show you the rest of the video?” Jay cut in.
The rest?
“Right. Judging by your expression, I’ll say he didn’t. He’d separated the files, but once I got into the system, I found the rest of your, um, volunteer reel, shall we say?”
“Play it.”
Jay did.
Sawyer saw himself lean forward, his hand clenched on a metal table. “Are we done? Because this is such bullshit. I’ve been involved in the program here for over a year.”
“The program is going through some changes.” Landon’s voice was mild. “This is just a new protocol that Wright wants the Pack to follow.”
“It’s a waste of my time. I have a mission to get ready. I need to be with my men.” He shoved away from the table and rose.
“You’ll get to keep working with Dr. Parker now,” Landon assured him. Landon still wasn’t on camera. “That’s the most important thing, isn’t it?”
On the dual screens, Sawyer tensed. “Are you threatening to separate me and Elizabeth?”
“No, not at all. On the contrary, I’ve just assured that you’ll keep working with her for as long as you want.”
“Yeah? Well, here’s a newsflash for you. This is my last mission. After this, I’m done. Getting out of this program, and starting a new life.” He spun on his heel.
“A new life with Elizabeth?”
Sawyer threw an angry glare over his shoulder. “What I do on my private time is none of your concern. I’ve got a mission to run.” He stormed out of the small room.
The video kept filming. The camera lens was locked on Sawyer’s empty chair.
“It will definitely be your last mission.” Landon’s words were a low whisper.
The video ended.
Sawyer realized he wasn’t breathing.
“Yeah.” Jay cleared his throat. “Based on that little parting shot and the documents I found on the guy’s laptop, it’s safe to say he was involved in getting you killed.”
Sawyer’s gaze jumped to Jay’s face.
“The mission was a success, you see. I found documentation of that. The hostages were rescued. There were no reports of enemy fire on the ground. No reports of friendly fire, either. The mission was logged in Landon’s computer as being a complete success.”
Sawyer shook his head.
“Yet, somehow,” West didn’t leave his seemingly relaxed position against the wall as he spoke up, “both you and your buddy Flynn wound up dead after you came back to the facility in D.C.”
“And you were both immediately placed in preservation per Lazarus protocol.” Jay looked at him with pity in his eyes. “You never had a chance. They wanted you for the program, and they made sure they got you.”
Sawyer forced himself to take a deep breath. “What the fuck else is on his laptop?”
“There’s a tape of your buddy Flynn basically saying the same thing you did. I don’t believe he had any idea about what Lazarus truly was. He just thought it was some new pre-mission BS that Landon and Wright were swinging his way.”
Sawyer heard a faint creak from upstairs. His gaze lifted to the ceiling.
“And then there’s this…” Jay’s fingers tapped on the wireless keyboard. “I believe you mentioned Bryce King? Subject Five?”
“He’s the,
uh, sadistic bastard who thinks he’s gonna get his hands on Elizabeth.” Fury battered every word.
“Not happening,” West announced flatly.
“No, it’s not.” Sawyer stared at the screens and fought to regulate his breathing. “So Bryce was tricked, too?” Maybe the bastard had been normal, once, before Lazarus.
“No, not at all. He wasn’t tricked.”
A new video began to play. Bryce was smiling—that smug, twisted smile that never reached his eyes.
“State your name.” The voice came from off-camera. Landon’s voice again.
“Bryce King.” He lifted a blond brow. “What? You want my rank and serial number, too?”
“No, I want you to state that you are willingly offering yourself as a participant in Project Lazarus.”
“Hell, yes, I’m in. I’ve seen the results, and I want that power boost myself.” His eyes shone eagerly. “I willingly volunteer.”
Jay paused the feed.
I’ve seen the results myself. “He came into the program a few weeks after Flynn and I were there. At first, it was just the two of us.” Sawyer’s shoulders tensed when he heard the creak of the stairs.
“Yeah, well, turns out the guy knew exactly what he was getting into.” Jay resumed play on the video.
And the camera zoomed out. The video had just been focused on Bryce’s face, but now Sawyer could see the exam room around him. Bryce was sitting on a reclining hospital bed. An IV fed into his arm. “How long will it take?” Bryce asked.
Landon walked into the frame. “Just a few moments. It’s not going to hurt, I assure you.”
Bryce was wearing a paper hospital gown. He gave a rough laugh. “I don’t mind pain. Never have. Never will.”
“You’ll be out for a few moments. When you wake up, well, the other test subjects have no memory of their past lives.”
“Some memories are better forgotten anyway. If I can do the things those other bastards can, it will be well worth the loss.”
Landon gazed down at him. “You’ll be able to do more than they can. I’m improving the formula with every new experiment.”
“And folks always wake up? I mean, they always come back?” His voice had grown sluggish. His eyelids were falling shut.
“Usually.” Landon checked the beeping monitor on his right. A moment later, he moved to strap down Bryce’s right wrist, then his left. “Though we’ve had a few failures.”
The beeping turned into a steady drone of sound. Sawyer realized what he was watching. “He just flat-lined.” Sawyer shook his head. “Landon killed him.”
There was a flurry of activity on the screens then. Men and women in green scrubs rushed in. Landon picked up a large syringe, and he plunged it straight into Bryce’s heart.
Sawyer’s hand rose and pressed to his own heart even as he heard the soft creak of the door opening behind him. He didn’t look back, not even when he heard Elizabeth’s swift intake of breath.
Landon is plunging another needle into Bryce—this time into the back of his head.
Sawyer’s hand fell away from his chest.
“Come on,” Landon urged as he stared at Bryce’s still form. “Wake your ass up. The faster you wake up, the stronger you’ll be. Come the hell—”
Bryce’s eyes flew open as he roared. He jerked upright, ripping right through the straps that had locked down his wrists.
“Tranq him!” Landon shouted. “Tranq—”
The video ended.
Sawyer didn’t move. “So that’s what it looks like. When a man dies and comes back. And Bryce knew what was going to happen.” Fucking hell. “Landon documented it all, didn’t he? Because he’s a scientist, and this is all his grand experiment. He documented every transformation.”
“Yes.” Unflinchingly, Jay met his stare. “Every one. The successes and the failures.”
Elizabeth slipped to Sawyer’s side. He didn’t touch her, but Sawyer could feel her warmth near him. Her sweet scent wrapped around him. “How many failures were there?”
“Four.”
Four dead men. Sawyer unlocked his jaw. “Were they like me and Flynn? Dead first, then given the formula? Or were they—”
“They were like Bryce. Landon gave them some sort of IV cocktail that stopped their hearts. They died, and he tried to bring them back with Lazarus. Only he was doing something wrong with them.”
Elizabeth’s fingers brushed Sawyer’s. “How many successes? There were, um, six men in the Lazarus facility—”
“And one of them is dead. I killed Subject Three.” Sawyer’s voice was cold. He couldn’t let emotion get to him, not then.
Jay licked his lower lip. “Ten subjects made the transformation.”
Ten?
“But the exam room was different for the last four test subjects. The background was off. I think Landon must have kept them in a different location.”
Where the hell were those men?
“I also saw some files that made me think Landon changed up your original formula, Beth. He wanted to increase the aggression that you feared. Only I don’t think he ever told you that he was stirring up the cocktail even more.”
“Sonofabitch,” Elizabeth breathed.
Yes, Landon was a damn sonofabitch. “I want to see my transformation.” The words burst from Sawyer. Still cold, still emotionless, but a demand nonetheless. “Show it to me.”
Jay glanced at Elizabeth. “I don’t think that’s the best idea…”
“Show the fucking video to me.”
West stepped in front of the screens. “Why? You know what happened. You were dead. You were injected, and you came back. End of story.” West crossed his arms over his chest. “Let it go.”
“I want to see it. Show—”
“Just show him,” Elizabeth cut in quietly. “He has a right to see it.”
West glanced at Jay.
Jay’s face tensed. “But I don’t like seeing your pain, Beth. I never did.”
“Neither the hell do I,” West muttered, but he stepped aside.
“Show him.” Elizabeth reached for Sawyer’s hand. She laced her fingers with his.
Jay bent to tap on his keyboard. It took a moment, but then another scene loaded.
Elizabeth squeezed Sawyer’s hand.
The video began…
“What’s happening? Why are they here?” On the screen, Elizabeth was in a cold, sterile-looking exam room. She was staring at several guards who crowded in the room. Two sheet-covered bodies waited on exam tables.
Landon picked up a chart. “Because in case any of that aggression that you mentioned manifests with these test subjects, I want to be prepared.” He gave a brisk nod as he seemed to scan the notes in the chart, then he focused on her. “This is your moment, Elizabeth. Don’t back away now.”
Her hands clenched at her sides. “There can’t be any degeneration to the tissue. The subjects—”
“Their bodies were protected,” Landon responded at once. “Exactly per your protocol.”
She stepped toward the nearest exam table, her movements stiff and jerky.
“Glad to see you’re getting on board,” Landon murmured.
Elizabeth’s hand lifted and curled around the sheet. She pulled it away from the test subject’s head. “S-Sawyer?” There was so much pain and shock in that gasped name. “Sawyer!” Now she was yelling. Her face had gone chalk white.
“He was killed on the mission.” Landon’s voice was brisk. “Both he and operative Flynn Haddox didn’t survive. Wright knew these two men would be prime candidates for Lazarus, so he immediately ordered the preservative process to be utilized with their remains.”
Elizabeth’s body hunched, as if she’d been punched in the gut. “Flynn’s…dead. Sawyer’s…dead.”
“Obviously, they’re dead.” Now Landon sounded annoyed. “But if Lazarus works, they won’t stay that way. We’ll start with Sawyer first—”
She whirled to face him. “Sawyer…no! We can’t use Laza
rus on him!”
“Why not? He’s the perfect specimen. His body is strong, he’s a warrior, exactly what Wright wants in Project Lazarus. Sawyer is the ideal candidate. With his background and training, he’ll be the alpha for this program.”
She was crying. Elizabeth swiped her fingers over the tears on her cheeks. “Lazarus isn’t ready. You can’t—you can’t do this to him!”
“Do this?” he repeated. “He’s dead, Elizabeth. We can either let him stay that way, or we can try and bring him back. You’re crying. Look, I get that it’s…difficult…because this is someone we both know—”
“Difficult?”
“But you had to realize the men here would make perfect subjects. And if they died on a mission, well, isn’t this the natural next step?”
She didn’t speak.
Landon edged closer to her. “He’s dead. What we’re doing…we’re bringing him back.”
“What if he comes back wrong?” Her voice was rasping, so weak with pain and grief. “The Lazarus formula is not perfect and it’s—it’s Sawyer!” More tears slid down her cheeks. “No, no, this is not happening. I can’t do this to him! I won’t—Sawyer isn’t some lab rat. He’s—”
The video stopped.
Jay let out a long sigh. “I really think that’s enough. Obviously, you were given the formula and you—”
“Play the fucking rest,” Sawyer snarled.
Jay opened his mouth.
“You heard him, Jay,” West growled. “Just play the rest. You can’t start it and then stop. At this point, he deserves to see the end.”
“But she doesn’t.” Jay was staring at Elizabeth. “She doesn’t deserve that pain again.”
“It’s okay.” Her voice was soft. “Play the rest. It’s a scene that I see in my head every day. Seeing it now isn’t going to hurt me more.”
“Sonofabitch…” Jay tapped the keyboard.
The video resumed.
Landon’s gaze was on Elizabeth. “I thought you might respond this way. Once you saw it was him. Unfortunate, but…it is what it is.” He motioned vaguely with one hand. “Guard, escort Dr. Parker out of the lab. She’s done here.”